Organizations with proposed programs to employ new and underutilized lawyers in innovative ways while meeting the legal needs of poor and moderate-income individuals can apply for start-up funding from the American Bar Association.
Now in their second year, the ABA’s Catalyst Grants are designed for programs of bar associations, courts, law schools and other groups. The Legal Access Job Corps will disperse $40,000 in grants, with individual awards ranging from $5,000. The grants are not intended to be an ongoing source of funding but are meant to start projects that can be sustained by other resources.
The grants support initiatives that achieve objectives similar to those of existing programs that employ new lawyers to serve the legal needs of poor and moderate-income individuals. As part of the Legal Access Job Corps initiative, the ABA has created a comprehensive catalog of such programs, which include legal incubators that provide resources for new lawyers who start their own practices to serve moderate-income clients, postgraduate fellowships, and initiatives to ensure the availability of legal services in rural and other underserved communities. An ABA short video – “Be the Change” – highlights how such programs help employ underutilized lawyers while serving those who need a lawyer’s help.
Among last year’s grant recipients were Legal Aid of Arkansas ($15,000), which provides fellowships for newly admitted lawyers who will serve under the direction of a legal aid lawyer representing clients in rural areas for one year and the Vermont Bar Association ($15,000), which launched the Solo and Small Firm Incubator Program, providing a supportive environment for select new law graduates who are committed to beginning a solo or small firm practice, and also demonstrate a commitment to serving low and moderate-income individuals.
At the same time, the Oakland County Bar Association ($5,400), which has collaborated with the Legal Aid and Defenders Association and the Family Law Assistance Project to create a pro bono mentor match program.
Information on the Legal Access Job Corps and the Catalyst Grant program, including a detailed request for proposals, is available at www.ambar.org/legalaccessjobcorps.
The application deadline is April 17.
Catalyst Grant recipients will be announced by June 30.
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